07.11.14

Noriyoshi Ohrai is one of my favourite poster artists, responsible for many iconic pieces of art used to advertise films including The Empire Strikes Back, The Goonies and several fantastic posters for the Heisei series of Godzilla films. Until recently the artist was almost a complete enigma to me since there was little information about him online beyond the basics and there are certainly no English-language books that have been written about his life and career.

When it was announced that an exhibition featuring practically all of Ohrai’s original artwork would be held in Japan during February/March 2014, which was to be the first time any of Ohrai’s art had been seen in public since his last exhibition in 1981, I knew that I had to make every effort to attend.

One of four B2 posters used to advertise the Noriyoshi Ohrai exhibition, featuring one of many paintings that the artist did of the King of the Kaiju, Godzilla.

In March 2014 I flew over to Tokyo and then a few days later took an internal flight down to the Island of Kyushu with my friend and fellow poster collector Toru Onozatu (AKA Poster-man). The exhibition was located in the Art Center in downtown Miyazaki, which is the city that Ohrai has called home since 1973. We were very lucky to have been given a personal tour by the curator Tatsuya Ishida who kindly guided us around the exhibition’s multiple rooms that were spread over two floors. I recorded his comments as we walked and they are featured throughout this article.

A map of Japan showing the location of Miyazaki on the Island of Kyushu at the bottom of the country.

The Art Center in Miyazaki, location of the Noriyoshi Ohrai exhibition

The exhibition featured almost all of Ohrai’s original art for film, book covers, video games, editorial work, biology text books and more, with only a tiny handful of the film art missing (some with their current location unknown). A lot of the art still belongs to Ohrai himself but some of it had been flown to Miyazaki from collectors including George Lucas (for some of the Star Wars pieces), as well as the Japanese studio Toho who lent several of the Godzilla artworks to the exhibition. It was certainly a unique situation that all of these paintings were gathered together under one roof.

A Star Wars poster printed in Japan to commemorate the release of a dubbed version of the original film in 1982, painted by Noriyoshi Ohrai. The huge (around A1 size) original art was on display at the exhibition and this small print was available to buy in the shop.

The exhibition began with a room containing a floor-to-ceiling pyramid of paperback novels and magazine covers that Ohrai worked on over a 30 year period, and this was surrounded by walls covered in framed posters of Ohrai’s film and commercial work. It was certainly a thrill to see them all together like that. The rest of the exhibition, in which photography was not permitted (I’ve included a handful of cheeky snaps), went through themes, beginning with Godzilla, moving onto book and magazine covers and a display of gigantic, incredibly detailed video game cover artworks. Also featured were some incredibly impressive portraits of famous figures, plus a room featuring Ohrai’s ‘Beauties in Myths covers for SF Adventure magazine. The last room contained posters for the Star Wars franchise, plus more film posters and several war-related paintings.

I wanted to share the visit with Film on Paper readers and the following pictures will hopefully give you an idea of what this memorable experience was like, plus I’ve also had the biography from the back of the exhibition catalogue translated into English and that is included at the end. Also featured are several photographs of pages from the catalogue since I was unable to actually photograph the artwork.

Exhibition director Tatsuya Ishida (left) and my friend, and fellow collector, Toru Onozato examine some of the many book covers painted by Ohrai in the first room of the exhibition.

One side of the book covers pyramid in first room of the exhibition, these being mainly war related imagery.

Mr Ishida explained to Toru and I that Ohrai worked on about 1300 book covers during his career and that the pyramid of books contained only about a third of his total output. In 1986 alone he worked on 130 book covers and he was completing a new illustration every 3 days or so.

A close-up of three of the hundreds of book covers that Ohrai painted during his career.

For each book he would read it first and then think about what would make the best cover. He wasn’t just being given a title and then making something up. Mr Ishida explained that Master Ohrai did quite a lot of work for a few specific book authors and he developed a particular style for each one so that their books became instantly recognisable. In the 1970s he would get paid about 150000 Yen for each book cover.

Some of the book covers that Ohrai painted for the novels of the Japanese author Sakyo Komatsu.

Some of the book covers that Ohrai painted for the novels of the Japanese author Sakyo Komatsu.

Noriyoshi Ohrai was born in Akashi City, Hyogo prefecture in 1935. His family was evacuated to Sendai City, Kagoshima Prefecture after their house was bombed during the war and Mr Ishida told us that Ohrai went to an art university in Tokyo but dropped out after a while. Mr Ishida said, “he told me that the reason why was because he felt he had nothing more to learn from the teacher”.

Ohrai moved to Miyazaki from Tokyo in 1973 because it’s his wife’s hometown. He bought an old farmhouse and converted part of it into a studio.

A view inside Ohrai’s studio in Miyazaki. This photo was on display in the exhibition and I’ve taken this from the Facebook page for the exhibition.

One side of the room of the exhibition that contained printed posters of Ohrai’s work, including several Godzilla ones.

Ohrai started out doing illustrations for newspapers then moved onto book covers and eventually started doing more and more posters after the huge success of the one he painted for The Empire Strikes Back.

The gorgeous Japanese B1 poster for The Empire Strikes Back, painted by Ohrai. This poster led to many more film-related commissions.

Large reproductions of the newspaper adverts that Ohrai painted during the early part of his career. These were displayed in the first room of the exhibition.

A corner of the first room in the exhibition that contained printed posters of Ohrai’s work.

Ohrai’s first film poster was for the 1973 film Japan Sinks and he painted it in his new studio.

A display case containing a printed copy of Ohrai’s very first film poster for the original Japan Sinks (Nihon Chinbotsu) that was done in 1973

Another version of Ohrai’s very first film poster for the original Japan Sinks (Nihon Chinbotsu) that was done in 1973

Mr Ishida explained that the turning point for his work on film posters was definitely after George Lucas had asked him to illustrate one for The Empire Strikes Back. After that he was very much in demand.

A Star Wars painting that Ohrai worked on for the release of the original Star Wars. This was included as a pull-out in a Japanese magazine.

The gorgeous ‘Starfall’ painting that Ohrai worked on for a promotional poster to mark the release of Return of the Jedi in Japan.

Ohrai understood how a painting would look when printed at a certain scale, so he used certain techniques that meant he didn’t have to spend too long on details that wouldn’t be noticed when it was scaled down to book size.

Some of the commercial advertising posters that Noriyoshi Ohrai worked on, displayed in the first room of the exhibition.

A close-up of a commercial advert for the Subaru Justy that was painted by Ohrai in the 1980s.

In the 1980s and 1990s there were some Japanese video game manufacturers like Koei and Konami who commissioned Ohrai to do elaborate paintings for their game covers. The actual paintings, which were on display , were huge and for each he would get figures like 1 million yen and more. Mr Ishida explained that the companies own the paintings outright so they kindly leant them to the exhibition.

Two of the hugely detailed paintings that Noriyoshi Ohrai was commissioned to paint for Japanese video game publishers like Koei and Konami.

One of the first pieces of artwork on view in the exhibition was for The Return of Godzilla and Mr Ishida explained that Ohrai drew the buildings with perspective in the background and then he painted Godzilla right over the top of it, not around it. Apparently he would often do painting in layers like this.

A view inside the main section of the exhibition which featured the original artwork by Ohrai, including these for Godzilla. Photography was not permitted of the artwork so this shot is a bit cheeky. My apologies to the museum staff!

One of the many framed original Godzilla artworks by Ohrai inside the main section of the exhibition, this one painted for the Making of Godzilla (1985). Photography was not permitted of the artwork so this shot is a bit cheeky. My apologies to the museum staff!

Another Godzilla artwork on display was for Godzilla vs Mechagodzilla II (1993) and we were told that when the painting was sent to print the colours were darkened and you could definitely see the difference when looking at the original art. Also the logo covers some of the detail.

A print of the original artwork for a Godzilla vs Mechagodzilla II painted by Noriyoshi Ohrai. The huge (around A1 size) original art was on display at the exhibition and this small print was available to buy in the shop.

The Japanese B1 for Godzilla vs Mechagodzilla II. Note the darkness of the colours compared to the original art above, a result of the printing process.

There were lots of paintings of spaceships, used for book and magazine covers, on display and Mr Ishida explained that they were almost all from Ohrai’s imagination. He was a massive fan of the film Alien and was very inspired by it.

Two book covers by Noriyoshi Ohrai shown in the exhibition catalogue. The one on the left was painted for an Akira special in the Japanese B-club magazine. These were both on display in the museum.

Some of the Beauties in Myths that Noriyoshi Ohrai painted for a series of SF Adventure magazine covers.

A close up of just some of the covers of SF Adventure magazine that Ohrai painted that featured his ‘Beauties in Myths’.

One of the rooms contained all of the paintings that Master Ohrai worked on for the SF Adventure magazine in Japan that was dubbed Beauties in Myths. He was commissioned to do a series of paintings that started in 1980 and lasted for almost 8 years. The theme he chose was depicting famous women from history and myths, like Queen Elizabeth I and Messallina, wife of Roman emperor Claudius, alongside modern military technology and sci-fi apparatus. The paintings were absolutely stunning and crammed with detail. The actual magazines were printed at around A5 size so Ohrai was able to hide various details in the art (see below).

Aasa of Oseberg, one of the Beauties in Myths that Noriyoshi Ohrai painted for a series of SF Magazine covers.

Close-up of Francesca Da Limini, one of the Beauties in Myths that Noriyoshi Ohrai painted for a series of SF Adventure magazine covers. This illustrates some of the detail that Ohrai put into the work, like this cheeky Alien queen at the top.

A close-up of Messallina, one of the Beauties in Myths that Noriyoshi Ohrai painted for a series of SF Adventure magazine covers.

Some more of the Beauties in Myths that Noriyoshi Ohrai painted for a series of SF Magazine covers.

Sketches for some of the Beauties in Myths that Noriyoshi Ohrai painted for a series of SF Magazine covers.

Ohrai painted a lot of scenes and characters in space and he liked to experiment with different colours. His space scenes were often either green-tinged or purple/pink.

A framed picture containing some poster concepts that Ohrai worked on for Return of the Jedi (1983)

Several paintings that Noriyoshi Ohrai worked on for the original Star Wars Trilogy. The top image was used to promote the novel Splinter of the Mind’s Eye.

For the drawings of old battleships when he couldn’t find a reference photo he would research the actual engineering plans and so his drawings are incredibly accurate.

Some of hundreds of war-related paintings that Ohrai worked on for book covers and other uses, such as model kit boxes.

A few of the excellent concept paintings that Ohrai was commissioned to paint for the Japanese film Virus, directed by Kinji Fukasaku

Mr Ishida said that there are many artists of Ohrai’s generation and of his skill level that traveled to cities like New York, establishing big studios and holding prestigious exhibitions. Ohrai wasn’t interested in the fame or earning lots of money, he just wanted to paint; “He’s a real artist without any greed”.

A view inside the section of the exhibition featuring film poster artwork. Photography was not permitted of the artwork so this shot is a bit cheeky. My apologies to the museum staff!

A shot of large paintings that Ohrai produced for the remake of Japan Sinks (2006), each showing the destruction of famous landmarks. Photography was not permitted of the artwork so this shot is a bit cheeky. My apologies to the museum staff!

Ohrai still owns most of the artwork, with the exception of the Godzilla paintings, which are the property of Toho studios, and the game covers that are owned by the companies.

Two framed posters for the Japanese video release of the original 1980s TV series ‘V’ that were on display in the first room of the exhibition.

A pen illustration of Godzilla fighting three-headed King Ghidorah. I’m unsure what this was used for but it may have been a sketch for the film poster.

Ohrai never left Japan once so he painted many things from his imagination. He had a brain aneurism in 2011 and he’s okay now but he can longer draw sadly.

Some of the excellent portraits that Noriyoshi Ohrai painted for various uses, including magazine editorials.

A shot taken from the exhibition’s Facebook page which shows a visit from Master Ohrai himself (in the wheelchair) with his son Taro third from the right and exhibition director Tatsuya Ishida centre bottom.

After finishing our guided tour from Mr Ishida, Toru and I were presented with the four B2 posters used to advertise the exhibition (and not for sale to the public), which was very generous and I’ve added these to the Film on Paper poster archive. There was also a shop from which were able to purchase the exhibition catalogue as well as a few other goodies like artwork prints, postcards and more.

Another view of the exhibition shop, including the catalogue for sale.

A view of the exhibition shop, including the two sets of artwork posters that I have detailed in the Film on Paper collection.

The next day Toru and I returned to the exhibition for a second look around without Mr Ishida to soak in the artwork once more. It will always be up there as one of the most memorable art exhibitions I have ever seen and if the exhibition is ever repeated I urge all Film on Paper readers to try and attend.

The exhibition catalogue features an extensive biography at the back but, frustratingly for me, it’s all in Japanese. My good friend Brian who has lived in Japan for several years helped to translate the majority of it and I felt it was worthwhile publishing it. The translation below features several footnotes.

November 1935 (Showa era year 10[1])
Noriyoshi Ohrai is born in Akashi City, Hyogo Prefecture.

1954 (Showa 29)
Entered a painting course in the Fine Arts Dept of Tokyo University of the Arts. His major was oil painting.

1957 (Showa 32)
Dropped out of university.

1960 (Showa 35)
Opened his first solo oil painting exhibition in Ginza.

An advert for the first and only previous exhibition that Ohrai has held of his work in Ginza, 1981.

1962 (Showa 37)
Married Yasuko Yamada, his friend’s younger sister. Started working as an illustrator for clients such as the Tokyu Agency, doing newspaper advertisements and magazine illustrations.

1966 (Showa 41)
Was in charge of the illustrations for a full-page ad in the Asahi Shimbun newspaper for editions of Eiji Yoshikawa’s Complete Works and Romance of the Three Kingdoms, published to coincide with the 60th anniversary of Kodansha’s founding. [3]

1968 (Showa 43)
Was commissioned by publishers Gakushū Kenkyūsha to provide the illustrations for an illustrated reference book, ‘Modern Family Medicine.’ When visiting Shinshuu University to collect materials for the work, he used an electronic microscope that had just been introduced and was able to see inside the human body.

Several book covers that Noriyoshi Ohrai illustrated, shown in the exhibition catalogue. These were all on display in the museum. The one on the right was used as a large poster to advertise the exhibition.

1980 (Showa 55)
‘The Empire Strikes Back’ is released. Ohrai’s international version poster is displayed in cinemas. The same year, he produced 25 image boards for for the America crew[18] of the film adaptation of Sakyō Komatsu’s ‘Fukkatsu no Hi.’ Also, he started drawing the covers for Tokuma Shoten’s ‘Sci-fi Adventure’ (he continued doing this until December 1987). Won the Seiun Award[19] (Art category) at the Japanese Sci-fi Convention, where Japanese sci-fi fans gathered. His first book of paintings, ‘Noriyoshi Ohrai Illustrations’ was published by Tokuma Shoten.

1982 (Showa 57)
Was responsible for the image illustrations for for Toei’s ‘FUTURE WAR year 198X’, and his second book of paintings, ‘Noriyoshi Ohrai year 198X Illustration Collection’ was published by Kodansha.

Several paintings by Ohrai that were painted for covers of books based on the life of Miyamoto Musashi. All covers were on display in the exhibition.

1983 (Showa 58)
Donates his ‘Hakai sareru ningen’, a work that he devoted 10 years to, to the Sendai History Museum in Satsumasendai City, Kagoshima Prefecture[21]. His third book of paintings, ‘Illustrations II – Phantasm Demon World’ is published by Tokuma Shoten.

Several printed posters showing Ohrai’s work for game developers and commercial clients.

1988 (Showa 63)
Ohrai’s 4th book of paintings, ‘Myths – The Beauties in Myths’ is published by Tokuma Shoten. Scored a big hit with the package designs for Koei Tecmo Games’ historical simulation game series ‘Suikoden’ and ‘Shinchou no Yabou’[22]

1996 (Heisei 8)Although he had gained his current position from accepting job challenges, Ohrai took the opportunity at age 60 to cut down on the number of illustration jobs he accepted and spend more time on oil painting.

2014 (Heisei 26)February – ‘Noriyoshi Ohrai – THE ILLUSTRATOR’ opens at the Miyazaki Art Centre, Miyazaki City. The first national large-scale exhibition of his works.

A large poster advertising the exhibition that covered doors to a lift leading up to Miyazaki Art Center.

Purple Page (summary):‘If you think about the wondrous colour scheme of cell biology, whatever colours may be in outer space won’t seem strange.’ – message to the Noriyoshi Ohrai exhibition (quote from Ohrai).

This page talks about how Ohrai’s original illustration designs are born from the human body, and it repeats the story mentioned earlier in the biography of how he was able to use a special new microscope to see inside the human body when visiting a university for research, and how this experience had a big influence on his subsequent work.

When Ohrai was asked by a reporter why he based his Empire Strikes Back depictions of space on green colours, he said ‘There are lots of ultramarine colours in space. Green is best for bringing out depth. The interior becomes deeper. If you think about the wondrous colour scheme of cell biology, whatever colours may be in outer space won’t seem strange.’

———————————

Footnotes

[1] Showa era ran from December 25, 1926 to January 7, 1989, corresponding with the life of Showa Emperor Hirohito.

[2] Sendai City (川内市）in Kagoshima Prefecture no longer exists; not to be confused with present day Sendai City (仙台市）in Miyagi Prefecture.

[3] According to Kodansha’s own literature, the company was founded in 1909, which doesn’t match with 1966 being its 60th anniversary!

[5] As with other names, I’ve written his name in western order (given, surname), but in English translation he’s often credited as Edogawa Rampo, Japanese-style.

[6] At first I thought 一寸法師 (Issun Boushi) referred to a famous Japanese fairytale, often translated into English as ‘The Inch-High Samurai’ , but it refers to a 1926 story by Rampo, featuring one of his main recurring characters, translated as ‘The Dwarf’ . I don’t know if ‘The Dwarf’ is based on ‘The Inch High Samurai.’

[7] Japanese wikipedia says that Ohrai did the cover, frontispiece and illustrations for ‘Wolf Guy.’

[8] Literally means ‘Day of Resurrection’, but English title is ‘Virus’

[20] Difficult to think of a punchy English translation – literally means ‘Human beings that get destroyed / will be destroyed’. Think it has a fatalistic ring to it, so perhaps something like ‘Humanity Doomed to Destruction’ might be apt?

Latest Additions to the Archive

Copyright

The original artwork and poster designs featured are copyright of the relevant studios or artists, including: Paramount, Disney, 20th Century Fox, Universal, Columbia Tristar, Mondo, Danjaq Ltd and more. See photos for individual copyright notices.

The photographs and text content are the copyright of Film on Paper and may not be used for any commercial purposes. Credit is appreciated if the photos are used in a non-commercial capacity.

About Film On Paper

The site Film on Paper is an archive of original film posters featuring the collection of me, Eddie Shannon, an interaction designer, film fan and slave to three cats, currently living in York, UK. The site came into being because I wanted a way to view my collection without having to continually handle the posters Read more